Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 comes into effect with strict penalties for forged travel documents

The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, came into force on September 1, bringing in new rules for immigration and regulating matters concerning foreigners in India. The law, passed in the Budget session and signed by President Droupadi Murmu on April 4, replaces four earlier legislations.

According to a government notification issued by Nitesh Kumar Vyas, additional secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 (13 of 2025), the central government hereby appoints the 01st day of September, 2025, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force."

The Act prescribes jail terms of up to seven years and fines of up to ₹10 lakh for anyone found using a forged passport or visa to enter, stay or exit India. The minimum punishment is two years in prison and a fine of ₹1 lakh.

It also mandates hotels, universities, hospitals and other institutions to report information about foreigners to authorities, aiming to track overstaying individuals. Airlines, shipping companies and other international carriers are required to share advance passenger and crew details with immigration officers at ports of entry.

The law further states, "Whoever knowingly uses or supplies a forged or fraudulently obtained passport or other travel document or visa for entering into India or staying in or exiting from India, shall be punishable with an imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than two years, but may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees, but may extend to ten lakh rupees."

Foreign nationals entering restricted areas without valid documents face imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to ₹5 lakh, or both.

The legislation also empowers the central government to regulate places frequented by foreigners, including ordering closure, setting conditions of use, or restricting entry of certain groups.

With its enforcement, the Act repeals four earlier laws — the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000 — consolidating them into a single framework.